Official F1 pre season testing thread
Discussion
TheDeuce said:
Am I the only one that thinks this years testing schedule was a bit of a flop in terms of viewing and drama?
I thought the compressed running time would make it more interesting to watch, which in some ways was true.. But on reflection I think that not splitting the test days over a two week period has taken quite a bit away for the fans. It's not that there used to be more days overall that I miss, it's that there was a break between the first and final days sufficient for the teams to iron out many issues. This year however, there was only time to identify issues, but no time whatsoever to design, fabricate and ship parts to address what was uncovered - so as viewers/fans the story is more incomplete than ever. We have literally no idea if the problems identified by the teams might be enduring or easily fixed by the time we see the cars again.
Wouldn't a 2 day one week, two day following week have been better? Or even just a 1 day wk1, 2 day wk2 arrangement.
I know it seems entitled to criticise, I know it's for the teams and not for us - but it's televised throughout now on the basis we're supposed to be interested. It was always a bit difficult to justify watching it all as there were few firm conclusions to be drawn from testing. But this new format with zero time to effect any fixes other than setup tweaks means we learn even less about the likely order and who is likely to struggle or excel.
Effectively what we got this year was a truncated week 2 as the cars in most cases are mechanically the same, they're just working out the new aero. I thought the compressed running time would make it more interesting to watch, which in some ways was true.. But on reflection I think that not splitting the test days over a two week period has taken quite a bit away for the fans. It's not that there used to be more days overall that I miss, it's that there was a break between the first and final days sufficient for the teams to iron out many issues. This year however, there was only time to identify issues, but no time whatsoever to design, fabricate and ship parts to address what was uncovered - so as viewers/fans the story is more incomplete than ever. We have literally no idea if the problems identified by the teams might be enduring or easily fixed by the time we see the cars again.
Wouldn't a 2 day one week, two day following week have been better? Or even just a 1 day wk1, 2 day wk2 arrangement.
I know it seems entitled to criticise, I know it's for the teams and not for us - but it's televised throughout now on the basis we're supposed to be interested. It was always a bit difficult to justify watching it all as there were few firm conclusions to be drawn from testing. But this new format with zero time to effect any fixes other than setup tweaks means we learn even less about the likely order and who is likely to struggle or excel.
OK, engines were new in Ferrari and Merc but they can be dyno tested, but the installations are generally the same (McLaren with the new Merc engine and Alpine with the wide engine cover apart).
So much fewer mechanical issues than before - I think there was just the one car stopped on track (Ferrari). Teams didn't even bother with running the cars dry - as they fuel cells are the same.
exelero said:
sparta6 said:
TheDeuce said:
Kind of happened in 2019, Ferrari turned up at pre season and monstered it, many said they would be unbeatable.
Then they lost, then it turned out they'd been cheating
But for a short while it felt like the order was perhaps about to change..
Cheating ? Prove it.Then they lost, then it turned out they'd been cheating
But for a short while it felt like the order was perhaps about to change..
Was this also the year when the tyres never worked for anyone but Mercedes?
Was this also the year of a team's engine burning extra oil for power increase and an Alleged cheat ?
andburg said:
I wonder whether we will see any teams copy the mclaren diffuser concept by the first race, be slightly amusing if Mercedes turned up having made a similar change and it fixed their rear end stability issues.
The commentary I heard suggested that the modifications required to replicate the McLaren would require use of a development token - which most of the teams don’t have spare. The fancy bit is actually the gearbox casing, rather than the diffuser behind it. Sandpit Steve said:
The commentary I heard suggested that the modifications required to replicate the McLaren would require use of a development token - which most of the teams don’t have spare. The fancy bit is actually the gearbox casing, rather than the diffuser behind it.
If they don't have a token, can they still develop parts in exchange for a penalty? Or are the cars locked down for development over the season now?Sandpit Steve said:
The commentary I heard suggested that the modifications required to replicate the McLaren would require use of a development token - which most of the teams don’t have spare. The fancy bit is actually the gearbox casing, rather than the diffuser behind it.
I can't see how that's correct given that McLaren had no tokens to spend given the new engine. And specifically the FIA stated that any modifications McLaren make must be necessary for the new engine and not for performance. kiseca said:
If they don't have a token, can they still develop parts in exchange for a penalty? Or are the cars locked down for development over the season now?
The latter. No development is allowed in the restricted areas, except under the token rules. https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/articles/single...
There’s going to be very little car development through the season, even in the free areas, except for any team that sees a chance of an unusually high championship position. Most teams will already be running flat out on the 2022 car, which is a completely new formula.
(Maybe Mercedes will underperform enough in the first few races, that they persuade RB to keep developing their old car well into the season).
Sandpit Steve said:
kiseca said:
If they don't have a token, can they still develop parts in exchange for a penalty? Or are the cars locked down for development over the season now?
The latter. No development is allowed in the restricted areas, except under the token rules. https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/articles/single...
There’s going to be very little car development through the season, even in the free areas, except for any team that sees a chance of an unusually high championship position. Most teams will already be running flat out on the 2022 car, which is a completely new formula.
(Maybe Mercedes will underperform enough in the first few races, that they persuade RB to keep developing their old car well into the season).
F20CN16 said:
The gearbox change was necessary for the power unit change, but that doesn’t exclude them from shaping the exterior for aero performance right?
'McLaren – As per Article 22.8.6, the team has had to spend both of its development tokens fitting a Mercedes power unit into its chassis for 2021, under the watchful eye of the FIA which ensured that they weren’t making changes purely for performance gain. The team said last season it was not happy with the token system allowing Aston Martin to adopt 2020 Mercedes parts free of charge.'So, we can assume that shaping that part of the gearbox isn't covered by tokens and other teams will be free to copy it.
F20CN16 said:
The gearbox change was necessary for the power unit change, but that doesn’t exclude them from shaping the exterior for aero performance right?
I think the theory is that they had to build a gearbox case from scratch anyway, to house the new Mercedes gearbox, so incorporating it into a wider design is okay. They’re supposed to have replaced or modified only the parts necessary to incorporate the new PU, rather than purely for performance reasons.
I suspect Red Bull have the protest lined up already!
CustardOnChips said:
Mercedes are out today filming with 2 cars.
The floor already reportedly looks different to testing.
Doesn't look too different, if at all. The floor already reportedly looks different to testing.
https://mobile.twitter.com/ScarbsTech/status/13717...
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